Circuit-controller.



' W. MORRISON.

CIRCUIT CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED 51111.15, 1913.

1,130,320, Patented Mar.2,1915.

2 SHEBT3-SHEET 1.

W. MORRISON. CIRCUIT CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.15,1913.

Patented M21112, 1915.

2 SHEETS-BHEET 2.

@MW $04M WILLLAM MOBMSON, 0F DES MOINES, IOWA.

CIRCUIT-CONTROLLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. a, rain.

Application filed January 15, 1913. Serial No. 742,277.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM MORRISON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Des Moines, in the county of Polk, State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Cirwit-Controller, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an electrical circuit controller, and has for its object to provide a controller in which the'.circuit-closing element is rotated step-by-step always in the same direction. 3 It has for its further object to provide a controller in which the circuit-closing element, rotated step-by-step always in the same direction, is moved one step upon the forward movement of a reciprocating, actuating bar, and a second step upon the backward movement.

A further object is to provide such a controller with means by which, upon the application of power to the operating mechanism, sufiicient energy will be stored in a spring to cause two successive step rotations of the rotary element of the controller.

These and other objects I attain by the mechanism shown in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is an end elevation looking from left to right of Fig. 2, the cover of the device having been removed and showing the mechanism, after two steps'have been made, ready to be restored f r the next operation; Fig. 2 is a side elevation looking from right to left of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a detail of the escapement releasing device; Fig. 1 is a detail showing the mechanism ready to operate; and Fig. 5- is a similar detail showing the mechanism after the controller drum has been rotated one step.

In the drawings, 1 is a ,casing, having in the upper portion of its side walls, slots through which slides the actuating bar 2, to which is secured a stop 3 against which bears one end ofa spring 1, the other end hearing against a sliding pawl-carrier 5, movable on the bar 2. This pawl-carrier is made in halves, bolted together, and carries a pawl 6, against the tail-piece 7 of which bears a spring 8 to hold the pawl in engagement with 'the teeth of a ratchet wheel 9, secured to the outer end of a shaft 10. Adjoining the ratchet wheel 9, and also secured to the shaft 10, is a ratchet-wheel 11 with teeth ointed oppositely from those of wheel 9. ranged to engage the teeth of each shown as extending through an arc of 30. Arranged to engage the blocks 19 are brushes 20, 20, carried on spring-supports 21 and provided with adjustingscrews 22. The brushes are carried on terminal supports having recesses 2d for insertion of the conductors. The controller drum is herein shown as provided with six sets of equispaced blocks, though a greater or lessnumber may be used.

The operation of the device is as follows: The parts are shownin Fig. 1 at the completion of a stroke, with the hooped arm 12 engaging tooth 25 and holding the con troller-drum locked, with the circuitbroken. As the bar 2 moves back (from left to right in Fig. 1), the releasing device 16 will en-. gage the end of the pawl-carrier 5 and move it and the pawl 6 to the right, the pawl leaving its engagement with tooth 26 and engaging the tooth 27. -At the end of the back stroke of the bar 2, the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1. Upon movement of the bar 2 in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 4:, the spring 1 is compressed between the stop 3 and the end of the pawlcarrier 5, held stationary by pawl 6 in engagement with tooth 27 (the shaft 10 is held stationary by hooked arm 12 engaging tooth 25 of wheel 11). Vhen, in the movement of bar 2, the arm 17 pushes yoke-arm 12 away from tooth 25, the spring 4 expands and pushes forward carrier 5 and its pawl 6, thereby rotating the wheels, until stopped, as shown in Fig. 5, by engagement of yoke arm 13 with, tooth 28 of wheel 11. As the drum has been rotated through an arc of 30, the opposite blocks 19, 19, will be engaged by brushes 20, 20, and the circuits connected to said brushes closed. If now the pressure on bar 2 be slightly relaxed, the spring 14L will move the escapement yoke until arm 13 is disengaged from tooth 28, whereupon, under pressure of spring 1, the wheels will be rotated another step into the bar 2 connected to a spring-retracted footpedal, or may be operated by any suitable motor. By movement in one direction of the actuating bar, suliicient energy is stored in the spring to provide for rotation of the controller through two successive steps, in the same direction, the escapement being released once upon the forward movementv and again upon the backward movement of the actuating bar. This feature is important, since, when the controller is used on an automobile for controllingthe circuits to an engine-starting motor or to a dmamo-clectric clutch, the operating pedal or lever is always left, after the completed cycle of operation, in the same position.

The particular circuit connections effected by this controller are not herein shown, as they are described in the application above referred I to. p

I claim:

l. The combination with a rotatable circuit-closing controller,'of an escapement mechanism permittingstcp-by-step rotation in one direction only, controller-rotating means comprising a reciprocating member and a resilient device, and means for causing said reciprocating member to store on its forward stroke in said resilient device sullicient' energy to rotate said controller through two successive steps, and means connected to the said reciprocating member to release said escapement.

The combination with a rotatable circuit-closing controller, of an escapement mechan-ism permitting step-by-step rotation in one direction only, a reciprocating actuator for saidcontroller, and means con nectcd to said actuator for causing said controller to rotate one step on each forward and one step on each return movement of said actuator.

3. The combination with'a rotatable circuit-closing controller, of an escapement mechanism permitting step-by-step rotation in one direction only, a reciprocating actuator for said controller, and means including a resilient device connected to said actuator for causing said controller to rotate one step on each forward and one step on each return movement of said actuator.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five tents each, by addressing the 4. The combination with a rotatable circuit-closer, of an escapement mechanism permitting step-by-step rotation'in one direction only, a reciprocating member, a spring-operated actuator for rotating said controller, means connected to said reciprocating member for energizing the spring, and means for releasing said escapement upon each movement of said reciprocating member.

5. In an electrical circuit-closer, the combination of a rotatable member, an actuating bar, an escapement mechanism permitting step-bystep rotation in one direction only, a device for operating said rotatable member movable on said bar, and a compression spring between said bar and-said device.

6. A controller-operating mechanism com prising a reciprocating actuating bar, a rotatable shaft, two ratchet wheels on said shaft, an escapement yoke mounted on a fixed pivot and having arms for engagement with the teeth of one of said Wheels, a paw-Learner sliding on said bar and having a pawl for engaging the teeth of the other wheel, a compression spring on said bar and bearing against said pawl-carrier, and a releasing device on said bar arranged to engage said yoke and said pawl-carrier.

7. A circuit-closing device comprising stationary contacts, a rotatable member carrying spaced contacts, means for rotating it comprising a reciprocating member, a movable pawl-carrying member and a fixed abutment on said reciprocating member, a spring between the movable member and the abutment,- a spring-pressed escapement yoke, teeth on the rotatable member arranged to coaet with the pawl and yoke and a releasing device secured to the reciprocating member and arranged to engage said yoke, whereby the rotatable member moving step by step always in one direction, alternately makes and breaks the circuit connections.

8. The combination with arotatable circuit-closing controller, of a mechanism permitting step-by -step rotation in one direc tion only, a reciprocating actuator for said controller, and means connected to said actuator for causing said controller to rotate one step on the forward and one'step on the return movement of said actuator.

WILLIAM MORRISON.

Witnesses:

J. H. BRICKENSTEIN, M. HARDING.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

